If you haven't checked out BBR Distributed Computing clubs lately, now may be the perfect time. Our groups, many of which are highly ranked, believe strongly in the individual projects they contribute to. Whether you’re searching for extraterrestrial life, cures for diseases, conservation of our natural resources, or trying to decipher codes - it’s rewarding to be part of a group effort.

Team Discovery has two current projects: United Devices and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. UD, administered by Grid.org, is dedicated to finding cures for cancer and smallpox. TSC, coordinated by The Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases, strives to cure Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Our Project Hope has 17 blades (A blade is a series of specialized computer components set up just to process DC projects) currently crunching; 9 running UD and 8 are TSC. The UD blades are currently ranked 46 out of 1296 members. Our TSC blades are ranked 8 out of 257 members. The 9th TSC blade will be added soon. The group is ranked 6th in UD production and 2nd in TSC production, and is always eagerly accepting new members.

Team Ecology is contributing their spare computing cycles toward preserving and protecting the earth's wilderness and rainforests. Thousands of acres of natural habitat are being destroyed daily, and the group believes their daily clicks will preserve some of this precious habitat for future generations.

One member of Team Ecology (Starfish) recently announced the deployment of stats pages for the Ecology Fund Eco clickers. Because of the privacy policy of the Ecology Fund site, stats cannot be captured unless you sign up manually on the stats site.

There is also a little used Pay Pal link on the stats page for those who might like to make a monetary contribution towards the maintenance of these pages. Many thanks to Starfish for the time and dedication it took to develop and deploy these stats.

Team Helix is a group of individuals who have come together to find cures for such diseases as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes. Many members of Team Helix are currently offering their time in the memory of loved one's passed, while others are eager to find a cure for family members - or in some cases - themselves.

The end of the Genome Project: Members of BBR Reports Team Helix were saddened to learn of the decision by Stanford University to cease the Genome@Home project effective April 15th. Accomplishments by Team Helix’s 423 participating members included the completion of 3,117,441.67 work units and 168,784 genes. A significant number of Team Helix Genome@Home members are now utilizing their computers to continue the research work by running the Folding@Home Project.

Team Starfire continues to prove the existence of intelligent life on Earth by looking for it in space. Running the SETI@Home project sponsored by UC-Berkeley, this Broadband Reports team puts its spare cycles to work to analyze the “take” from radio telescopes like the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico.

The first phase of the SETI@Home project is expected to end soon. When it does, Team Starfire will gear up to start up on BOINC (see previous BBR report), the project that will replace the current one. The team currently occupies 6th place among all SETI teams worldwide. As has been the case for a long while, Team Starfire’s closest rival and partner is Team Anandtech. The friendly competition between the teams has benefited the project as each team strives to outpace the other.

One of Team Starfire’s best resources in the race is the fleet of “Crunchenstein” machines, which are owned by the team and hosted by members. This is another "blade" type project where members contribute computer parts to create a monster "cruncher". Crunchenstein has completed 66,886 work units to date.

Broadband Report's RC5-72 team is one of 3,900 teams competing for distributed.net, working to solve RSA Labs' 72-bit cryptographic challenge. Distributed.net teams have won both 56-bit and 64-bit challenges sponsored by RSA Labs. The RC-72 challenge was started over 500 days ago, and could potentially run for another 350,000 days at the current rate - if every possible key is examined.

Although there are less than 200 BBR members that participate in RC5-72, our output is comparable to larger teams. Currently, Broadband Reports' RC5-72 team has risen to 12th place worldwide. Your participation can boost the team's position. The BBR RC5 FAQ makes it easy to understand, install, and join the team.

(Written and submitted by Team Members)